Brit Jailed for 22 Life Terms for Child Sex Abuse in Malaysia

Briton Richard Huckle may have abused 

up to 200 children

From BBC UK

It is thought he may have abused up to 200 children over a decade, as Angus Crawford reports

A British man has been given 22 life sentences after admitting 71 charges of sex abuse against children in Malaysia aged from six months to 12 years old.

Police believe Richard Huckle, 30, from Ashford, Kent, abused up to 200 children from mainly poor communities.

The Old Bailey judge described a 60-page paedophile manual Huckle wrote as a "truly evil document" and said he must serve at least 23 years in jail.

A woman in the public gallery shouted: "1,000 deaths is too good for you".

In online posts, Huckle had bragged: "Impoverished kids are definitely much easier to seduce than middle-class Western kids."

Commenting on one of his victims, he boasted: "I'd hit the jackpot, a 3yo girl as loyal to me as my dog and nobody seemed to care."

'Such a scale'

He presented himself as a practising Christian and first visited Malaysia on a teaching gap year when he was 18 or 19. He then went on to groom children while doing voluntary work.

The BBC has learned that the National Crime Agency (NCA) only contacted two churches Huckle attended in Kent and London - which cannot be identified for legal reasons - last week, almost 18 months after Huckle was first arrested.

It says it has now referred that aspect of its investigation to the Independent Police Complaints Commission to see if it could have improved its response.


Richard Huckle

Judge Peter Rook QC said Huckle's sentence reflected the "public abhorrence" over his "campaign of rape".

He said: "It is very rare indeed that a judge has to sentence sexual offending by one person on such a scale as this." He added that Huckle's life "revolved around your obsession with your own sexual gratification by child sex abuse".

"It is also clear that, had you not been arrested, you planned to continue the same lifestyle using the expertise that you were keen to show off to and share with other abusers so as to continue your sexual exploitation of the children of such communities," he said.

The freelance photographer admitted the offences, which took place between 2006 and 2014.

'Borders are no barrier'

Investigators found more than 20,000 indecent pictures and videos of his assaults on children, which were shared with paedophiles worldwide through a website hidden in the so-called dark web.

He even tried to make a business out of his abuse by crowd-funding the release of the images and was compiling a paedophile's manual at the time of his arrest by the NCA in December 2014.

Australian police, who traced Huckle, also suspected 17 other British men of using the same websites. Five of those have now been convicted, two have killed themselves, and five have been arrested and are on bail, the NCA said. One of the men is still being investigated, no further action was taken in one case, and in the final three cases, the NCA said investigators were "unable to resolve IP [internet protocol] data".

Ahead of his sentencing, Huckle claimed to a psychiatrist that he wanted to put his "madness" behind him and settle down with a south Indian woman. But the court was shown a posting from 2013 in which he outlined his plan to marry one of his victims in order to help him abuse more children.

Judge Rook said: "In my view, you may well harbour feelings of regret but there is no feeling of genuine remorse in this case."

James Traynor from the NCA's child exploitation and online protection command said Huckle had "deliberately travelled to a part of the world where he thought he could abuse vulnerable children without being caught".

"He spent several years integrating himself into the community in which he lived, making himself a trusted figure. But he abused that trust in the worst possible way."

The NCA was able to use legislation that allows UK nationals to be prosecuted in the UK for offences that have been committed overseas. "The NCA worked to track down Huckle and end his prolific abuse. Borders are no barrier - we are determined that those who go abroad to abuse children will be held to account," he added.

Six Men Guilty in Latest UK Child Sex Abuse Case

Agence France-Presse, London
Jakarta Post

The Old Bailey, London

Six men were found guilty Friday in Britain over the repeated rape of two teenage girls, one of whom was forced to have sex with more than 60 men.

The case is the latest in a series of high-profile child sex abuse cases in Britain to feature defendants of south Asian origin, fueling an intense and controversial debate about the root causes of the crimes.

One of the victims, who cannot be identified for legal reasons but was aged 12 or 13, told police she was "passed around" between the men but complied because they were "making your life a bit more exciting".

The schoolgirls both came from troubled backgrounds and were groomed by the men, who gave them alcohol, food and drugs in the town of Aylesbury, northwest of London, the trial heard.

"The scale of it is, you may agree, horrifying. 'A' [the letter used to identify one of the victims] estimated that she had sex with about 60 men -- six zero -- almost all Asian," prosecutor Oliver Saxby told England's Central Criminal Court in London, also known as the Old Bailey.

"Notwithstanding that they were children, they spoke in terms of these men being their boyfriends. And they were passed from man to man, sometimes on a daily basis."

A graphic string of cases of child sex abuse in British towns and cities including Rotherham, Rochdale and Oxford have emerged in recent years.

The country has also been shaken by revelations of historic sex abuse by celebrities such as television star Jimmy Savile.

Vikram Singh, 45, of Aylesbury, was found guilty of four counts of rape and administering a substance with intent; Asif Hussain, 33, of Milton Keynes, was convicted of three counts of rape and Arshad Jani, 33, of Aylesbury, was found guilty of rape and conspiracy to rape.

In addition, Mohammed Imran, 38, of Bradford, was convicted of three counts of rape, one count of conspiracy to rape and one count of child prostitution; Akbari Khan, 36, of Aylesbury, was found guilty of two counts of rape, administering a substance with intent and conspiracy to rape and Taimoor Khan, 29, of Aylesbury, was convicted of one count of sexual activity with a child.

The men will be sentenced on September 7.

If there is any justice in London, those men should get 30 years each and then be deported.

Two Schoolgirls Abused by 60 Men in Child Sex Ring

Two schoolgirls abused by 60 men in Aylesbury child sex ring, court hears

Eleven men on trial at Old Bailey accused of committing sexual offences against youngsters allegedly conditioned into believing abuse was 'normal'

(L-R) Harmohan Nangpal, Vikram Singh and Sajid Ali,
three of the men standing trial at the Old Bailey

Members of a "horrifying" child sex ring abused two schoolgirls, taking advantage of their vulnerability on a "massive scale", a court has heard.

One girl, who was aged 12 or 13 at the time, alleges that throughout the period she was abused, she was passed between 60 men who had sex with her Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Eleven men are on trial accused of committing sexual offences against the youngsters, who had allegedly been conditioned into believing that what they were being subjected to was "normal".

Jurors at the Old Bailey have heard how both girls came from troubled backgrounds and wanted to feel grown up when they were taken in by the men. The defendants deny a total of 49 offences said to have been committed between 2006 and 2012.

They included the multiple rape of a child under 13, child prostitution and administering a substance to "stupefy" a girl in order to engage in sexual activity.

In all, 45 charges relate to one child who cannot be identified for legal reasons and is known as "A", and four against a second girl, referred to as "B".

Opening the case, prosecutor Oliver Saxby QC, said: "This case concerns child sexual exploitation on a massive scale. It features two young girls who were employed and sexually abused from the age of 12 or 13."

He continued: "Both girls were from unstable backgrounds, making perfect targets. Their lives were 'off the rails'. They were looking for excitement, for attention. For somewhere to hang out, away from school and home.

"They were wanting to feel grown up. And looked after. And they were easy prey for a group of men wanting casual sexual gratification that was easy, regular and readily available."

The court heard that one of the girls, known only as A, was abused to a greater degree than the other, known only as B. Jurors were told that both girls were befriended and showered with inexpensive gifts such as alcohol, DVDs, food, and occasionally drugs.

The men are standing trial at the Old Bailey in London

Mr Saxby said: "They were being conditioned, exploited. Their trust was being established. And then they were sexually abused."

He added that at the time the girls' ideas of what was right had been "completely distorted", and that they thought what was happening was "normal" and "natural".

"Notwithstanding that they were children, they spoke in terms of these men being their boyfriends. And they were passed from man to man - sometimes on a daily basis. The scale of it is, you may agree, horrifying. A estimated that she had sex with about 60 men, almost all Asian."

The 11 men on trial are accused of being among the men who abused the schoolgirls. Each allegedly acted with "total disregard of the law and the legal prohibition on the sexual abuse of children".

They lived in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, where the abuse occurred, and some were friends, the jury heard.

The court was also told that some of the men were married and had children, with some working in the market and a few working as taxi drivers. Each of the men sexually allegedly abused A, while two are said to have molested B.

In one statement, A told police: "You get passed round... It wasn't particularly me looking for them. It was them looking for me. It's just that they pass your number around... Or you're with one of them and they invited three or four of their friends round and then you have to sleep with them.

"Because you're in their place and they're making your life a bit more exciting, so you do what they want."

She added that she thought the men found her attractive, and was happy to be wanted, knowing that "Asian men" wanted to sleep with her.

Vikram Singh, 45, of Aylesbury, is charged with four counts of rape, four counts of sexual activity with a child, and one of administering a substance with intent.

Harmohan Nangpal, 41, Hayes, is accused of one count of rape, and one count of sexual activity with a child.

Asif Hussain, 33, of Milton Keynes, face three counts of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of arranging child prostitution.

Arshad Jani, 33, of Aylesbury, denies one count of rape, and a further count of sexual activity with a child.

Mohammed Imran, 38, of Bradford, is accused of three counts of rape, three counts of sexual activity with a child, two counts of conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child, two counts of conspiracy to rape and one count of child prostitution.

Akbari Khan, 36, of Aylesbury, denies two counts of rape, one count of of sexual activity with a child, and one each of administering a substance with intent, conspiracy to rape, and conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child.

Taimoor Khan, 29, of Aylesbury, is charged with one count of rape, one count of sexual activity with a child, one count of conspiracy to rape, and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child.

Jerome Joe, 35, of Buckingham, is charged with one count of rape and a single count of sexual activity with a child.

Sajad Ali, 34, of Chesham, is charged with rape, sexual activity with a child and administering a substance.

Sohail Qamar, 41, of Aylesbury, is accused of sexual activity with a child, two counts of rape, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Faisal Iqbal, 32, of Aylesbury, is on trial accused of conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to commit sexual activity with a child.

The men filled the dock in court, some of them using the services of various interpreters speaking Hindi, Urdu, Pashto and Punjabi.